Brandon Mann’s career is coming to an end when he starred in his career at Fangraphs in June 2020. Southpaw’s professional experience spans 17 seasons (including part of the 2018 versus the Texas Rangers), and he’s soon to move from Hurler to teacher. Mann served as pitching coordinator for KBO’s Lotto Giants in 2021, and then as coach and pitching coordinator for the next two years. His last two seasons were in Miami. Mann joined the Marlins as a pitching strategist in 2024, and this year he is their bullpen coach.
Given his background and expertise, and my appeal to some of the talented weapons of Miami pitchers, I will catch up with what Mann means when the Marlins visited Fenway Park in mid-August. I’m not sure what we’ll talk about, but I know it’s a good marketing conversation. We ended up focusing on changes and splitters.
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David Laurila: You just tell me that Edward Cabrera has a unique variation. What makes it stand out?
Brandon Man: “The most unique part is how difficult it is [94.2 mph, per Baseball Savant]. The motion curve is similar to a sedimentation plate, although it is a little higher in depth than a typical sedimentation plate. It’s indeed a rotation. Said he threw a change and a sinking piece, both of which were 96 [mph]. The movement profile is almost the same, but the changes will drop more as it has 600 less rpm. That’s super unique.
“I don’t know if when you really see this movement giving justice… Say it’s three [inches] Induce vertical fracture and 16 [inches] Level – Then he threw a sinker at ages six and 18. They are the same silk, the sinking piece is left to rest, but the change falls, someone sways and misses. Many of them are rotating components. Again, it is similar to VELO, but with a rotation amount of 500 to 600 rpm.
“You stand there and see this pitch, and it looks like it’s dropping a lot, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that must be a negative IVB’ – but actually [positive] Two IVs? It feels like you are standing there with a hellish splitter or something like that. Again, it’s hard for him to throw. That’s crazy. I think he has changed the most in Statcast history. ”
Laurila: There are changes to Sandy Alcantara. How is his situation compared to Cabrera’s?
Man: “It’s not that firm [90.5 mph]slightly higher rotation [2,092 rpm, compared to 1,753 for Cabrera]. I believe Kababy has more extensions [6.6 feet] Bisanti [6.1]. Their arm angles vary slightly. But I mean, Sandy has also changed very well. ”
Laurila: Will Eury Pérez change?
Man: “He did, but it was still a work in progress. Eury had a lot of hands, so it was finding the right direction, the right grip…and he was still very young. He was 22 years old. He had grown up in the majors. He was doing an amazing job – he did a wise fastball, which was an action, but could make people more difficult because it really became more incredible because it was a big effort because it was a big move because it was a big move because it was a big thing to do, because it was a big move because it was a big thing to do. The size of his hand.
“Suppose we are in a standard two-slit orientation. My hands are normal so they can be arranged in the same way every time. His fingers may be an inch or two inches longer than mine, so as the ball’s hand is deeper in his hand, it doesn’t necessarily always get out of the finger consistently every time. Unless you have extreme premises on your fingers, which makes your fingers consistent, which can make your fingers very different.
“The guy with big hands is an excellent candidate for splitting fastballs, so it can be explored at some point. But his changes are really good at times. Again, his fastballs are so unique that the changes he has made can produce some pretty good results. It’s a more consistent question.”
Laurila: Who else has obvious changes among the employees?
Man: “I really like the split of Lake Bachar. It’s off his other courts very well and he’s happy to throw it to the right and left-handed, which makes it versatile. The beauty of the split is that you just grab it and tear it apart. You find the right seam orientation and then grab and rip and then hold that thing, you don’t want to wear the person you happen to happen, if you run into the right person, whether it’s the right person, whether it’s the right person. When he throws it there.
“Ronny Henriquez has had a very good change. The sports profile is great. He can get more in the area, though. It’s just a chase for him.
“Ryan Weathers is really, really good. I’m a big fan of his change. He’s one of the few left-handed guys out there, and they’re comfortable throwing it around left and right. When you have the ability to turn to the same hand, it opens a lot for your other courts as you change hands. The change of hand can do that overall.” Generally speaking. ”
